


Casting Lines

by ashavahishta



Series: Casting Lines 'verse [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Future Fic, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-26
Updated: 2012-12-26
Packaged: 2017-11-22 23:34:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/615643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashavahishta/pseuds/ashavahishta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amidst the noise - the dog whining, Jamie's shrieking, Evie's giggles and bird noises, and Daniel asking loudly, again, about ice-skating - Louis leans in to press a kiss to Harry's smiling mouth. "Hi."</p><p>Harry doesn't loosen his grip on Evie's ankles where they hang over his shoulders, but he kisses Louis back and murmurs a quiet, "Hey, love."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Casting Lines

 

Louis wakes up at 5am to the dulcet tones of his two year old son screaming at him from the monitor beside the bed. He blinks awake quickly, not at all surprised about the early hour. James has never been one to sleep in.

Harry is stirring beside him so Louis mutes the monitor quickly, slips from Harry’s arms and out of bed. He tugs one of Harry’s shirts on over his sweats and makes his way to the next room, where Jamie is already awake. The little boy is standing up in his crib, hands gripped around the railing.

“Hey, JJ,” Louis whispers, and Jamie’s face lights up, big green eyes blinking at him. Louis scoops him up into his arms and smiles when he feels Jamie tuck his face into his neck.

“Daddy,” Jamie says in a small, happy voice.

“Did you sleep well, sweetheart?” Louis asks as he moves them both to the changing station in the corner of the room. He keeps up a steady stream of chatter as he gets Jamie into a fresh diaper.

When he’s done, Jamie smiles up at him and kicks his feet, eager to be up and moving already. “Play?” he asks.

Louis runs his fingers through his son’s soft, fine brown hair. It hasn’t got any curl to it at the moment, but he and Harry are both hoping that’s going to change as James grows up. “Yes,” Louis agrees, and lifts Jamie off the table, setting him on his feet. “Play.”

He and Harry tend to trade off on who gets the early mornings with their youngest son, and today Louis is content to fix himself a cup of tea and follow Jamie into the play room downstairs. The floor is absolutely covered in toys of every shape, colour and description and Jamie dives in immediately, tugging a book out of a box and wobbling over to present it to Louis.

“This one?” Louis asks, taking the book from him and helping Jamie clamber up into his lap. “You like this one, huh, about the frog? What colour’s the frog, J?”

Jamie stares at the cover of the book for a moment, petting at it before finally deciding, “Green.”

“That’s right!” Louis agrees. “Okay, let’s read.”

Jamie settles properly in his lap, pulling his thumb into his mouth as he follows the story.

 

 

 

By the time the rest of the house is starting to stir awake, Louis and James have already read four books, played with a whole pile of stuffed toys, danced along with the television, and had a snack.

Jamie leads the way into the kitchen, chanting, "Fruit, fruit!" as Louis lifts him up to his highchair and straps him in. "Daddy, I'm hungry."

"I know." Louis says. He switches the kettle on, setting out two mugs with teabags and grabbing the milk from the fridge. There's a small tub of chopped up watermelon leftover from last night's dessert and he sets it down in front of Jamie to pick at with his fingers.

Daniel wanders in just as the kettle is boiling. He's in his favourite striped pyjamas, the hems rising a few inches above his socks. It's lucky they've bought him new ones for Christmas, Louis thinks. Daniel's already grown a good inch or two since he turned eight earlier this year.

"Hiya Dad," Dan mumbles, pressing himself against Louis' side for a moment with his hand curling in the waistband of Louis' sweats.

"Morning, kiddo," Louis says. He wraps an arm around his eldest's shoulders, leaning to drop a kiss into his honey-brown hair. "You sleep okay?"

Daniel's reply is overrun by the excited shriek of "Banny!" from Jamie's chair and Daniel turns to give his little brother a smile and wave.

Dan kicks his little step over from the corner, climbing up so he can reach the loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter from the counter. He makes his own breakfast, leaving Louis to put together some yoghurt and muesli for Jamie to go with his watermelon.

"Dad, are we still going ice-skating today?" Daniel asks as he sits down at the kitchen table with his toast. He turns a small smile on Jamie and reaches up to push the bowl of yoghurt a little closer to his grasping hands.

Louis takes his own seat at the table with his tea, blowing gently at the surface to cool it before he takes a sip. "That's the plan, but it might have to be just you, me and your sister. Papa's got some shopping to do for Christmas still."

Daniel's face falls slightly. "But we were supposed to all go together!"

"I know, but it's Christmas Eve tomorrow and we have a lot of food to take to Nan's and then Grandma's the next day, and we've got all your uncles over on Boxing Day. You know how seriously your Papa takes all this, he wants to make sure he has everything ready."

Christmas is a _huge_ deal in their home. It's Louis' birthday, of course, and they'll make the rounds of both his and Harry's family over the next two days. Boxing Day is set aside to see Niall, Liam, Zayn and _their_ families. By the 27th, Louis expects himself and Harry to be either completely mental or passed out on the floor amidst a sea of unwrapped presents and uncooked food.

"It won't be the same if Papa doesn't come, he's the best part!"

Louis eyebrows quirk. "Why's that?"

"Because he's awful at it," Daniel grins impishly at him at takes a large bite of toast, bright blue eyes glittering. "I like counting how many times he falls over before he pretends it's his turn to take Jamie so he can stop."

Louis laughs, the memory of their last ice-skating trip coming back to him. Harry _had_ been awful at it, his long limbs flailing manically beneath thick winter clothes. Louis, only slightly more graceful on the ice, had taken Daniel's hand after a mere ten minutes, allowing Harry to watch from the sidelines instead.

"Well, let's just hope he's done all the shopping and we'll see if we can set a new record today, hmm?"

 

"Yeeeeeeha!!"

Louis wishes he could say he's surprised, but he's far too used to the phenomenon of their five year old daughter 'riding' into breakfast sat atop Harry's broad shoulders. Harry gallops into the kitchen at full speed, skidding to a stop in the doorway and grinning breathlessly at them all. "Good morning!"

"Good morning," Louis quirks a smile at him. "You've got something stuck in your hair, Haz, you might want to see to that."

Harry makes a show of looking up and acting surprised when he spots his Evie above him. "Oh! What is that? Have I been attacked by some kind of giant bird?"

Evie tugs on Harry's curls, giggling and making loud squawking noises. Jamie's voice adds to the din as he yells, "Pap!" and throws a piece of watermelon at the wall. The dog, an enormous Collie-Labrador mix appropriately named 'Bear', skids into the room and scarfs down the piece of fruit, then turns to beg Daniel for his toast crusts.

Amidst the noise - the dog whining, Jamie's shrieking, Evie's giggles and bird noises, and Daniel asking loudly, again, about ice-skating - Louis leans in to press a kiss to Harry's smiling mouth. "Hi."

Harry doesn't loosen his grip on Evie's ankles where they hang over his shoulders, but he kisses Louis back and murmurs a quiet, "Hey, love."

 

 

As it turns out, Harry has done all the shopping he needs for Christmas, so after breakfast and a nap for Jamie, they all gather at the front door to bundle into winter clothes. Louis wrestles Evie into her heavy coat, tugs on her gloves and talks her into wrapping a thick, fluffy scarf around her neck, but she balks at the beanie he presents her with. "No."

"It's been snowing and you're going ice-skating, baby. You can't go out without a hat."

"They look stupid."

Evie's definitely the most stubborn of their children, her mouth set into a thin line and green eyes narrowed angrily. She's Harry's, as is James, and Louis recognises more and more of his husband in their faces every day. The furrow between Evie's brows is entirely reminiscent of Harry's grumpy cat face, the pout he still gets sometimes when things really don't go his way.

Daniel, bless him, is getting himself dressed and already has his own beanie shoved down around his ears. "C'mon, Eves," he whines. "I wanna goooooooo."

"We can't go until Papa's ready anyway," Evie points out, and shakes her head as Louis tries to hand her the beanie again. "No."

"Harry, are you coming?" Louis calls up the stairs. Harry appears at the top landing with Jamie in his arms, his little face red and streaked with tears.

"Sorry," Harry says. "Someone didn't want to wake up from his nap, did you bud?"

Jamie shakes his head, but he's quiet in Harry's hold so whatever tantrum he's thrown, he's done with it for now.

"Five minutes," Harry promises. "Evie, put your beanie on."

He disappears back towards Jamie's room and Evie scowls in his wake. "I don't wanna," she whines again.

"We're not going if you don't wear it," Louis says, crossing his arms. "Also, Santa does not come to little girls who don't keep warm in the snow."

Evie looks up at him with big eyes. "You're lying," she says suspiciously. "Santa comes to everyone who's been good, and I've been good!"

"If you were really good you'd wear your hat." Louis insists. "Now, Evelyn."

Evie glares at him for one more moment and finally shoves the hat down over her hair, the wavy brown locks smothered beneath green wool. Louis breathes out a sigh of relief and resolutely doesn't think about what a nightmare she'll be as a teenager.

 

 

Finally, they'll all ready, and tumble out into the street together. It's cold, the skies gray and much of the world still covered in last night's snow. Daniel and Evie rush out ahead with Louis calling after them to be careful not to slip. He and Harry follow more slowly behind, James clutching Harry's hand as he picks his way over the snow. Louis walks beside Harry with their hands clasped between them, pushing Jamie's empty stroller with his spare hand.

It's not a long walk to the local park and Louis enjoys it. It's cold but bearable, and very pretty with the snow covering everything and the Christmas lights winking at them from the houses they pass. The crisp air is filled with the sound of his children's laughter, their happy voices.

He catches Harry looking at him, fondness shining in his eyes. He brings their joined hands up to his mouth and kisses Louis' knuckles through his glove, smiling so his cheek dimples.

Louis laughs. "What's that for?"

Harry shrugs and swings their hands together, looking ahead to Evie and Daniel playing in the snow, and down beside him to Jamie in his bright red wellies and tiny gloves.

"Just happy," Harry says with a shrug. At thirty-two he still looks boyish, all soft pink mouth and bright eyes with long, dark lashes. His curls are just as lovely as they ever were, even peeking out from under a hat like today. He's taller and broader, so much more a man than the sixteen year old Louis first fell in love with. But it's the same smile that makes Louis melt, the same adoration in his eyes, the same sweetness in his looks.

It's been sixteen years, and Louis still loves him just as much as he always has. Maybe more.

"Me too," Louis agrees, and pauses their stroll long enough for a sweet, cold kiss with Harry's gloved hand against his cheek.

 

Harry sets a new record of fifteen falls before he surrenders, and Louis circles the small lake with Evie and Daniel for a couple of hours. Harry takes Jamie home for his nap after a bit, and by the time he trudges home with the elder two, Louis is ready to sleep too.

They have a simple dinner of pasta that night, then move smoothly enough through the evening routine of baths, teeth-brushing and bedtime. Evie only asks for her favourite book to be read through twice, and Daniel only climbs out of bed to complain about the possibility of dinosaurs in his cupboard once. Even Jamie goes down easily, the excitement of the trip to the park and a rigorous afternoon play session knocking him out the moment Louis places him in his crib.

 

 

Harry and Louis head to bed themselves a few hours later and this time Louis locks the door behind them. He leans against it for a moment, revelling in the quiet of the house when all three kids are asleep. Harry grins at him from the bed, where he's already sprawled out in nothing but boxers. "Peace at least."

"Yes." Louis agrees fervently. He strips as he crosses the room, tugging his shirt over his head and stepping out of his jeans. Harry watches with a quiet sort of interest, his eyes warm and his mouth still quirked into a smile.

When Louis climbs up onto the bed he swings his knee over Harry's hip, sitting astride him with his ass settled against Harry's thighs. He sets his hands on Harry's waist, looking down at the long sprawl of Harry's body beneath him.

Harry's changed, yes - he's bigger and taller, his jaw sharper, the muscles of his arms and stomach more defined. He's tattooed heavily, his arms both covered in patterns and words from shoulder to wrist, lyrics and symbols and pictures. There's the dozens he got in their early days, the three torturous years they spent in hiding when the tattoos were the only way Harry could express how he felt. To this day, the 'Hi' under his arm is Louis' favourite, because it was the first, the first time he knew just how much Harry belonged to him, the first time he realised that this was something they wanted to last forever.

He has other favourites, of course - the ship that links with Louis' compass, the birds on Harry's beautiful collarbones, the 'L' on his inner thigh, the song lyrics Harry wrote himself for their tenth anniversary and then had inked into his right wrist. Even now, even when Louis is as familiar with Harry's tattoos as the rest of him, when he's seen them every day for years, he finds beauty in them.

Harry just smiles up at him as Louis traces his fingertips over the large cluster of tatts on Harry's right side. There's a huge, gorgeous sun on his flank, and above it, three stars. The sun is the oldest, inked mere days after their wedding with the date inscribed in small, curling script just beneath it. To the left, the star with Daniel's birth date, then Evie's, then James'. There's space enough underneath the sun for two new stars, ready to be inked this coming April.

Louis has a matching design on his own torso, a moon and three stars etched into his skin.

Actually, maybe those are his favourite.

He spreads his hand over the sun as he leans down to kiss Harry. It's slow, Harry's mouth warm and giving as his hands run up and down Louis' arms. Louis relaxes into it, enjoying the moment alone with his favourite person after such a full day.

When they pull away, Harry's mouth is flushed red and he squeezes Louis' hips gently. "Hey, it's your last night as a thirty-four year old."

Louis groans. "Oh god, don't remind me."

"I wonder what my life will be like now that I'm married to such an old man," Harry muses thoughtfully. "Do you think you'll start to go grey soon?"

"Shut up," Louis whines, pinching Harry's nipple in retaliation. Harry just laughs, not even trying to twist away.

"Should we buy you some ugly cardigans and trousers to pull up to your armpits? Get some dentures fitted? You know they're doing some really amazing things with Viagra these days -"

"Hey!" Louis tickles Harry's sides until Harry squirms, bucking to try and throw him off. He pins Harry's wrists to the bed above his head and leans down to bite the underside of Harry's jaw. "You know for a _fact_ that that's not a problem."

Harry arches beneath him, half-hard cock rubbing against Louis' ass through their boxers. "Prove it, old man."

Louis grins, finding Harry's mouth and kissing him firmly as he starts to roll his hips in teasing circles. Harry hardens quickly against him but Louis takes his time with it, kissing him thoroughly with Harry's wrists still held against the bed. He still loves to be held down, made to stay still and take whatever Louis gives him. Louis loves it, especially with how much bigger than him Harry is these days. It makes him feel powerful, proves to him just how much Harry still wants him, wants to please him.

"So good," Louis murmurs against Harry's mouth when he finally breaks the kiss. Harry blinks up at him and his features spread into a wide smile. His eyelids flutter when Louis grinds down against his cock again, his mouth opening on a small gasp.

"Don't move," Louis says, and releases Harry's wrists. He moves down Harry's body, stopping to kiss his neck, to leave a bright red bite on his collarbone above the bird tattoos, to suck a bruise into his hip. They got addicted to leaving marks like this in their early days, tangible reminders for each other when their public image still said the opposite. Even now, covered in each others' tattoos, platinum rings on their fingers and "Harry and Louis Tomlinson" in the public eye, Louis still loves to leave marks. He'll never get over that feeling, he thinks - the rush he gets with Harry laid out beneath him, beautiful body bruised and bitten, an artwork that spells out, _Mine, this is mine, this person belongs to me, this person is loved and loves in return._

"Mine," Louis says as he kisses across Harry's hip to find the 'L' tattoo on Harry's inner thigh. He latches onto the skin with his teeth, sucking long enough for the blood to rush to the surface and flush it a warm red.

"Yours," Harry agrees. He's breathing hard but he hasn't moved since Louis told him not to. Louis almost wishes he would, just to give him an excuse to pull the handcuffs out of the box on the highest shelf of their closet.

 

He rides Harry that night, forcing Harry to keep still beneath him as he teases with torturously slow rolls of his hips, working himself down on Harry's cock. Harry watches him with hooded eyes, mouth open in something like awe and hands twitching with how much he wants to grab Louis' hips and fuck up into him properly. When Louis finally allows himself to come, hand tight around his own cock and Harry deep and thick inside him, it shocks up through him, makes him shudder and whine against the force of it. Spent and sated, he goes boneless as Harry flips them over and pushes inside again, fucking him hard and fast with his hands gripping the underside of Louis' knees. It doesn't take long for Harry to come, panting against his neck and spilling inside him before collapsing against Louis' chest.

In the aftermath, with Harry heavy on top of him and his hand carding through Harry's damp curls, Louis hears Harry mumble, "Alright, so we won't be needing that Viagra then."

Louis grins so hard his cheeks hurt, tugging Harry up by his hair for a long, deep kiss. "I'm thirty-five, not eighty-five. And I think I'm okay with it."

"So Louis Tomlinson, aged thirty-five, is content?" Harry asks, meeting his eyes and tracing idle patterns on Louis' chest with his fingertips.

It's not something that Louis has to take a lot of time to think about. Things aren't perfect, of course - the kids drive him absolutely nuts sometimes, they still haven't had the discussion about which of them will take time off work next year when the twins arrive, and as always Louis wishes he were just that little bit fitter and slimmer around the belly.

But their marriage is rock-solid, they won't need to be worrying about money any time soon and they'll be celebrating the arrival of two gorgeous new babies come next year. This life - kids, a career, a marriage, _Harry_ , is basically all Louis could ever had dreamed of.

Louis nods. He thumbs gently at Harry's cheek and wonders at how Harry can still make him feel this way after all this time, at how they've grown into each other over the years, how hard they fought for this and how much they deserve it. "Very content, sweetheart."

Harry smiles and leans in to kiss the corner of his mouth. "Then I am too. Happy birthday, Lou."

The morning on Louis' birthday passes in a flurry of activity. Louis wakes up early as usual but is pressed back into the mattress by Harry and his insistent mouth and warm hands. They manage a decent twenty minutes alone in the early morning light, laughing softly and kissing indulgently. When Jamie's monitor goes off, Harry won't let him leave the bed and tells Louis to go back to sleep instead.

He's woken a couple of hours later to Evie and Daniel jumping on the bed, tickling his feet and yelling, "Happy Birthday, Daddy!!" while Harry stands in the doorway with a tray of breakfast which, apparently, the kids made all by themselves.  
    
The toast is slightly burnt and smothered in way too much marmalade, and the juice slops all over the sheets when Evie clambers onto the bed with the glass clutched in her small hands. But the eggs, (which Louis is certain Harry helped with), are perfect and so is the tea. Louis makes a show of enjoying every single bite and then puts the tray on the floor so he can tackle his children into the sheets, shrieking with laughter.

They drive to Doncaster early, arriving in time for lunch with Louis' mother, stepfather and sisters. Jay spends most of the day cooing over Jamie, who she dotes on because he's the youngest of her grandchildren. The day passes quickly as they eat and drink with the family, catching up on each of Louis’ sister's lives. It's amazing how much they've grown, that they're women now, with partners and children and careers of their own. Louis just keeps thinking about how tiny they'd all seemed to him, how he'd thought he was missing out on their lives when he was so busy with One Direction. He hadn't stopped to think of how much more of their lives there was still left for him to see.

 

They start packing up the car in the afternoon, shoving piles of gifts into the trunk. Harry and Jay share a long hug and a kiss on the cheek before Harry lifts a fussing Jamie from Louis' arms and goes to start the arduous task of strapping him into his car seat.

"It's going to be a long drive," Louis says, watching from the doorstep. Jamie is kicking and yelling while Harry struggles to get him to sit down. Evie and Daniel, apparently unconcerned, are playing with one of Daniel's new toys in the snow of the front garden.

Jay smiles at the scene before her and wraps him up into a sudden hug. "I can't believe my baby is thirty-five already. And you've done so well, darling. You and Harry...I always knew you were something special but I didn't dare dream it would all turn out so well."

Louis nods as he hugs her back. "I think we earned it though, don't you?"

"Yes," Jay agrees immediately. It's not something they talk about very much, what Louis' taken to calling the Hell Years when he and Harry were still closeted. Looking back now, he can't believe how they coped with the pressure of it all, the constant lying and the elaborate cover-ups. It's a distant memory but it's had a huge impact of their relationship; taught them exactly how much they're willing to go through for each other. It makes the happiness of their later years just that much sweeter, knowing how much they suffered just in the hopes that they would end up together.

"Happy birthday, baby." Jay kisses Louis on the cheek and he pulls away after a moment, calling out for his children to come say goodnight to Nan.

The drive home is pretty awful, with Jamie crying much of the way and Daniel and Evie squabbling in the backseat. By the time they pull up to their home in London, Louis has a pounding headache and he just wants everybody to go to bed. But Evie is hyper, enormously excited because Santa is coming tonight, and Daniel won't put down the helicopter toy that Lottie gave him today. Only Jamie goes down easily, having cried himself to sleep just before they reached London.

"Evie, can you turn that down!" Louis snaps when Evie turns on the radio and starts dancing and singing loudly to 'Jingle Bell Rock'. "We just got your brother to sleep and it's your bedtime soon anyway."

Evie does as she's told, but the music is still drilling a hole in Louis' brain and Daniel keeps zooming past him with the new helicopter toy, narrowly missing a lamp as he whooshes past.

"Hey," Harry's big hands close over his shoulders and rub gently. He bends to press a gentle kiss to Louis' neck. "Go have a bath, baby. I can watch them for an hour."

Louis groans at the thought of a hot bath and leans back into Harry's touch. "Are you sure?" he asks reluctantly. "We still have to do presents before bed -"

"I know, it can wait. Go on, it's your birthday."

Louis turns in Harry's arms and hugs him, tucking his face into Harry's warm neck. Harry rubs his back, swaying them together for a moment.

"Did I mention I'm really glad I married you?" Louis asks, his eyes closed and the words spoken soft into Harry's skin.

Harry laughs quietly and kisses his hair. "A few times, yeah. Go have your bath."

 

 

Tradition dictates that the kids are allowed to open one present each on Christmas Eve, so they gather around the Christmas tree after Louis has had his bath. Harry's managed to get the kids in their pyjamas and settled calmly enough under the tree. Louis joins them on the carpet, allowing Bear to curl up against his feet.

"Alright," Harry says. Evie is sitting on his lap, bouncing slightly in her excitement. "It's Dad's birthday so he goes first. Danny, can you find one for him?"

Daniel bends over to rustle through the presents until he finds an envelope labelled "To Daddy from Papa," and hands it over to Louis.

Louis opens the envelope and finds an itinerary for what looks an amazing three-week holiday in Australia, along with two plane tickets booked for February 1st, 2027. He stares at it for a moment, shocked. Australia was always their favourite country to tour in, back when One Direction was still a thing, and they'd always told themselves they'd go back there for a real holiday one day.

"February..." Louis says, looking up to meet Harry's eyes. "That's -"

"My birthday, and Valentine's Day, and our last chance for a vacation by ourselves before the twins are born," Harry finishes, his eyes twinkling.

"The kids -"

"Are going to my mum's."

"We have work -"

Harry waves a hand. "All the hype over my album will be over by then, and I'll be winding down all my promo after the second single is out anyway. They can do without you on the show for a few weeks, I spoke to Mandy already."

"I -" Louis continues to stare down at the tickets. Three weeks alone with Harry, without work or kids, sounds like absolute heaven. "Thank you, Harry."

He breaks into a huge smile and leans over to give Harry a kiss. Evie makes an annoyed noise and climbs out of Harry's lap, choosing to curl up with the dog instead. Louis tucks himself against Harry's side, reaching for his hand and rubbing his thumb against Harry's wedding ring.

Evie is delighted with her kid's plastic baking set, complete with a cupcake decorating kit and tiny, bright purple whisk and spoon.  Daniel exclaims happily over a new set of pyjamas from his favourite cartoon, and Harry grins when he unwraps the huge box of chocolates that Louis had helped the kids buy for him.

By the time everything has been unwrapped and looked at, it's getting late and Louis is yawning, leaning heavily into Harry's warmth. He feels Harry press a kiss into his hair and he says, "Dan, Eves, you wanna give your Dad his birthday present now?"

Louis blinks himself awake and watches as Daniel scrambles to pull an enormous posterboard which he somehow didn't notice was hidden behind the tree. Dan and Evie flip it around together, revealing a very colourful 'Happy Birthday Daddy!!!' poster. It's written in Daniel's wobbly script, but it's obvious that all three kids have had a part in this. It's covered in glitter, shells and sequins glued all over, drawings of butterflies and stars and hearts, photos, fingerpaint in a hand so small it can only be Jamie's.

Louis takes the poster from Daniel and looks it over, his heart swelling with joy. There's a lump in his throat and all he can do is open his arms and rasp out, "Come here, guys."

Evie and Daniel jump at him at the same time and Louis wraps them up, one under each arm in a tight hug. He kisses their hair, their cheeks. "Thank you, it's wonderful," he says. He cups Daniel's face in his hands and kisses his forehead, then does the same to Evie. "I'll keep it forever."

Harry's photo of the that hug will end up framed, hung on the wall beside the poster itself, and it won't leave their living room wall for many, many years.

 

 

On Christmas Day, Louis is not surprised at all to be woken by Evie and Daniel jumping on the bed mere minutes before Jamie starts making himself known through the monitor. Harry goes to get their youngest from his crib as Louis is dragged downstairs to see the huge pile of gifts which have appeared beneath the tree overnight.

Harry comes back and settles Jamie on the carpet with the other two, so he can play with the wrapping paper and his own new toys as his siblings unwrap their gifts. Louis and Harry curl up on the sofa and watch, laughing at Evie's excitement when she discovers the bites taken out of the the biscuits they left out for Santa last night.

 

 

After a morning of playing with new toys and eating Christmas candy, it's time to clamber into the car again and head to Holmes Chapel for lunch with Harry's family. The afternoon passes much the same way as their time with Louis' family - food, drink, conversation and lots of new gifts. The kids disappear into the upstairs rooms to play with Gemma's girls in the afternoon, leaving Louis and Harry to talk with Harry's family in peace.  

"So what's the plan for the new year?" Anne asks, taking a bite of sticky date pudding and smiling over at Louis and Harry.

Harry shrugs, jostling Jamie slightly where he's seated in his lap, gnawing happily at a piece of shortbread. "I'll wrap up promo for the album soon, but Louis will still be in the studio. The twins are due in April, and I guess we'll just be busy getting ready for them."

"And everything's okay with Rachel and the pregnancy?" Anne asks, referring to their surrogate.

"She's doing really well," Louis replies, reaching to help Harry untangle Jamie's grasping hands from his necklace. Jamie shrieks in discontent and Louis takes him from Harry's arms, rubbing his back and giving Harry a bit of a break. "I mean, with twins everything moves so much faster than the other pregnancies, but the girls are healthy and so is Rachel, so we're not worried about anything at the moment."

"I can't believe you're having two more," Gemma grins at them from across the table. "I know you guys love having a baby in the house, but  _five_  kids? We barely cope with our two."

Harry laughs. "Trust me, after the girls are born we're not trying for any more. I think five's quite enough."

Louis smiles at him over Jamie's head. "Yeah, five is good."

 

 

They Skype with Rachel that night, checking in on the progress of their unborn daughters.

"I'm fine," she says with a smile, rubbing her belly gently. "My back is killing me and I keep bursting into tears for no reason, but your girls are happy and healthy. Did you open my card yet?"

"Oh, we didn't," Harry disappears for a moment as he rummages through the pile of unopened gifts on their dresser. He comes back to the bed with a large envelope in his hand and rips it open as Louis watches on. Inside there's a large 3D ultrasound picture of the babies, with the words, 'Merry Christmas Daddy and Papa! Can't wait to meet you!' written underneath.

Harry bites his lip, staring down at the picture before he looks back up at Rachel through the screen. "Thanks, Rach. It's the best present we could have gotten."

"Thank you," Louis echoes, his hand rubbing circles on Harry's back. "For everything."

It's not enough, it never has been for the woman who gave them their family. Rachel blows them a kiss. "You're welcome, guys."

 

 

Their Boxing Day extravaganza with the boys is very important to Harry, who's been planning and hosting the event for years now. He spends the morning cooking up a storm while Louis generally tries to keep the kids out of his way, helping where he can with setting the table or finding extra chairs.

Liam arrives first, alone this year. He's dated around a lot over the years, but hasn't found anything very serious since he and Danielle broke up for the third time in 2016. It doesn't seem to bother him in the slightest, perfectly happy to have short-term relationships and remain married to his work. It keeps him young, so he says, and he's so dedicated to his work (silly acting roles in action movies and romantic comedies, guest stints on British soap operas), and so excited about the upcoming plans he has to start a new label with Niall, that he barely has time to date anyway.

Liam has Evie hoisted on his shoulders, Louis handing him a beer, when a small child goes whizzing past them, followed by another one, so fast that Bear leaps up from the couch and starts barking loudly.

Liam raises an eyebrow. "Um, do those belong to you?"

Still staring in the direction the child took off, Louis shakes his head. "Nope, mine are all present and accounted for. I guess that means Niall's here."

Right on cue, there's a joyous shout from the doorway and Louis is being enveloped in a tight hug. "Lou!" Niall exclaims, before leaping on Liam. Niall's wife, Lexie, follows at a slightly more sedate pace and leans in to kiss Louis on the cheek. "Did my terrors just come through here?" she asks.

"About yea high, blonde, yelling something about snow? Yep."

Lexie just grins and shakes her head ruefully. "They'll be tracking mud all over your carpets all day. I'm sorry in advance."

Louis laughs. "We're used to it, trust me."

Lexie came as something of a surprise, showing up in Niall's life in early 2019, the year before One Direction called it quits. At the time she was a studio musician, one third of an up-and-coming folk-pop band on the cusp of breaking into the mainstream music scene. Loud, bright, honest and covered in tattoos and piercings, she bowled Niall over within minutes and they married in Vegas on the last date of the final One Direction tour the following year. Their twin boys, tiny, identical blonde menaces called Patrick and Shane, were born in 2022 when Daniel was four and Evie just one. Lexie has sworn on her life they'll never have more, the twins enough of a handful already.

These days, Lexie's almost as well known as her husband, thanks to a few explosively popular albums with her band. Niall's made a name for himself in the background of the UK music scene, flitting happily between projects. He'll do anything - producing, writing, guest vocals. He and Louis even put out an EP together a couple of years back, touring locally with just Niall's guitar and their voices to carry them. It was a small project but enough to settle the restlessness in Louis' bones, to quell the longing for performance after so many years at home with the kids while Harry launched his (hugely successful) solo career.     

Louis leads the way into the dining room, watching as Harry takes a moment out of his cooking to greet their friends. Patrick, Shane, Evie and Daniel are playing in the snow outside, Jamie happy on the floor in the living room with his toys and Bear to play with.

Zayn is late, of course, slipping inside just as Harry and Louis are starting to set out the enormous platters of food.  He's smiling shyly, clutching tight to the hand of his boyfriend Cameron.

Zayn had a rough time of it, in the beginning. His first girlfriend after Perrie was a bit of a mess and she dragged him down with her, pulling him into parties and drinking and new, shady friends. When they broke up, the girl had posted a bunch of details of their relationship online, including some very personal pictures. 2015 and 2016 were a mess, after that, Zayn spiralling while the rest of the band scrambled to help their friend. They all took time off, after that, and Zayn came back to them happier and healthier.

He was tentative to date, after that, but David - a dancer who Zayn met in 2018 - was good for him. It was his first real relationship with a man, and although it petered out after ten months it helped Zayn to trust people again. Ashley, a gorgeous PR manager who worked for Sony, lasted five years and they only broke up late last year when Ashley realised that Zayn was only proposing to her because he felt like it was the thing to do.

He met Cameron a mere three months after breaking up with Ashley, and Louis remembers raising a skeptical eyebrow and asking Zayn if he thought maybe Cam, who was very beautiful and very interesting, was just a rebound.

Zayn had shaken his head emphatically. "No, Lou, you don't understand. I know I just met him but it's - it's real, you know. He's my Harry."

Louis had breathed out a quiet,  _oh_  and never raised the subject again.

Cameron, who is tall and gorgeous and filthy rich in his own right, with a high-end fashion label to his name and a blue-blood family behind him, has turned out to be perfect for Zayn. He's steady and confident and fiercely loyal, and they've been absolutely enraptured with one another from day one. The British press have labelled them a 'power couple' to rival Louis and Harry, since Cam was already known as something of a socialite before Zayn. Zayn's done well for himself too, his own solo work and occasional modelling contracts keeping him in the public eye.

As he watches his friends (his family) settle into Christmas lunch with their various partners and children, his own included, Louis takes a moment to reflect on his own life.

He met the love of his life when he was nineteen years old, and he's been lucky enough to be able to build a home with that person, to have children of their own. He can't complain about work, either. After One Direction dissolved, Louis was offered a presenting role on Daybreak nearly immediately, and he took to it with gusto, learning the ins and outs of television work. Harry had had a quiet couple of years at home with Daniel and Evie, who were very young at the time, then started writing his own music in 2022. Since then, Louis' been offered various TV roles, mostly hosting or presenting. It works well for him - he's charismatic and charming, and people seem to really enjoy his sense of humour. Louis likes working with the camera, talking to people every day, making them laugh. Somehow it's not as daunting as singing always was to him.  

Harry's solo music has been enormously successful, sending him on tours all over the world. He books them as short as he can, or during times that Louis is able to bring the kids and tag along, so they've been something of a travelling circus at some points in their lives. When he's not touring or working on new music, Harry's at the offices of his own clothing label - nothing major, just casual wear for people his own age. It's been well-received, though, and even Cameron, who should know, has praised Harry's eye for fashion.

When Louis starts to get the urge to perform again he knows he always has options. He took on a West End musical role last year, just to prove he could do it, and it was one of the most incredible experiences of his life. The project with Niall a few years back was great, too. He and Harry have even talked about recording an album of duets, finally doing something with the songs they've written together over the years.

Their new daughters will be born in a few months' time, and Louis is so excited to complete their family. It's going to be complete madness, but then again, hasn't that been his whole life? He wouldn't really have it any other way.

 

 

They have a very long, very loud lunch, everybody talking over each other, laughing and telling stories. Long after the food is gone and the children have left the table to play, they're still talking. After a time, Lexie places a gentle hand on Cameron's shoulder and steers him outside to watch the kids, leaving the original One Direction alone.

"Can you believe it's been sixteen years since we met?" Liam asks.

"Nope," Harry replies. He's got his arm resting around the back of Louis' chair, hand curled against his shoulder and fingers stroking lightly. "God, we were so young."

"Didn't even know how to dance," Louis says with a grin, glancing over at Zayn. "Oh Simon, I can't dance, I was just hiding in the back."

Zayn rolls his eyes and throws a napkin at him. "What about you with your awful hair and those stupid shoes you were obsessed with? What were they called again?"

"TOMS," Niall pipes up. "And remember we all wore them to Judge's Houses because we thought he looked so cool."

"Better than you in a t-shirt and jeans when we met the  _President_ ," Harry teases.

"How was I supposed to know he would be there?!" Niall yells for the millionth time, and the rest of them burst into laughter at the familiar joke.

"Wait, how about in Montreal in '18 when -"

"No no, when Liam nearly -"

"Remember Adelaide, with the dolphins -"

"The best one was Harry in Chile!"

They have so many stories, thousands of jokes, memories, and moments that only the five of them will ever have a hope of understanding. As Louis listens to the voices of his boys, his husband and his brothers, he's hit with a wave of nostalgia for the ten years that One Direction existed, but also for the years following, for the bonds they've made and never broken.

When the conversation dies down, Louis raises his glass. "We've had a good life so far, eh, boys?"

They clink glasses and Harry leans over to kiss him on the cheek as all five of them exchange heartfelt 'Love you's.'

That afternoon, they take a family picture on the back porch of Louis and Harry's home. Five men, one wife, one boyfriend, and five children gather around in front of the camera. It's an incomplete picture - in five years' time it will include Harry and Louis' youngest daughters, Liam's wife Katie and their son, and Zayn and Cameron's daughter.

For now, Louis presses close to his boys in the centre of the group, because it's been the five of them against the world for sixteen years and it's going to be that way for the rest of their lives.

The camera flashes.

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